Newsletter of the Vedanta Centres of Australia

Vedanta Centre of Sydney, 2 Stewart Street, Ermington, NSW 2115, Australia.

Website: www.vedantasydney.org; e-mails: vedasydney@vedantasydney.org; vedasydney@gmail.com

Other websites: www.spiritualbookstore.org.au, www.spiritualbookstore.com.au

Phones: (02) 8197 7351, -52; Fax: (02) 9858 4767.

All religions are true

“All religions are true. God can be

reached by different religions.

Many rivers flow by many ways

but they fall into the sea. There all

are one.”

- - - Sri Ramakrishna

Great sayings: Words of Sri Ramakrishna,

Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda;

The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of

Culture; Calcutta; page 18.

True value

“Is the value of a thing to be

gauged by its price? It is the love

and devotion with which a thing is

offered that really counts.”

- - - Sri Sarada Devi

Sri Sarada Devi: The Holy Mother: Life

and Teachings by Swami Tapasyananda;

Sri Ramakrishna Math; Mylapore,

Madras, page 127.

Religion

“Religion is realisation; not talk,

nor doctrine, nor theories, however

beautiful they may be. It is being

and becoming, not hearing or

acknowledging; it is the whole soul

becoming changed into what it

believes.”

“The ultimate goal of all mankind,

the aim and end of all religions, is

but one — re-union with God, or,

what amounts to the same, with the

divinity which is every man's true

nature.”

- - - Swami Vivekananda

Teachings of Swami Vivekananda;

Advaita Ashrama; Mayavati; Himalayas,

page 244 and from a lecture ‘The

goals and methods of realisation’.

Motto:

Atmano mokshartham

jagad hitaya cha,

“For one’s own

liberation and for the

welfare of the world.”

Welcome

We welcome you all to the Ramakrishna - Vedanta Movement and

invite you to attend our functions and actively participate in the propagation

of the Universal message of Vedanta as epitomized in the lives of Sri

Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda.

Page 1 January 2012 Reach Issue No. 21

Sayings and TeachingsSayings and TeachingsSayings and Teachings

Reach

Function Centre Date

CCCALENDARALENDARALENDAR OFOFOF EEEVENTSVENTSVENTS FROMFROMFROM JJJANUARYANUARYANUARY TOTOTO MMMAYAYAY 201220122012

B. Ann. Swami Vivekananda

Birth Anniversary of

Sri Ramakrishna

Shivaratri

Dol Purnima

Ram Navami

Shankar Panchami

Buddha Purnima

Brisbane Sunday, 5 February 2012

Brisbane Sunday, 26 February 2012

Melbourne Sunday, 26 February 2012

Perth Sunday, 26 February 2012

Sydney &Auckland Thursday, 23 February 2012

Sydney &Auckland Monday, 20 February 2012

Sydney Thursday, 8 March 2012

Sydney Sunday, 1 April 2012

Sydney Thursday, 26 April 2012

Sydney Sunday, 6 May 2012

Statue of Swami Vivekananda at the Ramakrishna Institute of Moral

and Spiritual Education, Mysore, Karnataka, India

ADELAIDE CENTRE

Monthly activities:

a) Swami Sridharananda continued his

three-days-a-month visit to Adelaide and

delivered discourses on the Bhagavad

Gitā and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali at

the Dulwich Community Centre, 14

Union Street, Dulwich SA 5065. The

lectures are being recorded. For details

of the ongoing monthly programmes

please contact Dr. Raman Sharma,

Secretary, on 08- 8431 9775 or Mrs.

Pathma Iswaran on 08-8379 5336.

b) A ‘reading from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna’ is held every month on a

prescheduled Sunday from 2:30 p.m.

at 33 Woodhouse Crescent, Wattle

Park, SA 5066.

Annual Activity:

a) The Annual Spiritual Retreat was

held on Saturday 19 November 2011 at

the Monastery, on 15 Cross Road, Urrbrae

SA 5064. Swami Sridharananda and

Swami Chandrashekharananda

Conducted the retreat which included

chanting of Vedic mantras, guided

meditation, bhajans, a question-

answer session and readings from the

Gospel of the Holy Mother and the

Letters of Swami Vivekananda. Swami

Sridharananda gave two talks on

‘Spiritual Practices in Daily Life’,

which is the theme for this year. The

retreat concluded with bhajans and

ārti. The participants thoroughly

enjoyed the atmosphere of peace and

the information gained through the

question-answer session.

Other Activities:

Swami Damodarananda, one of the

pioneers of the Vedanta Movement in

Australia, New Zealand and Fiji,

visited Adelaide from the 5th to the

7th of November en route to his

News from and activities of the Vedanta Centres of Australia and New Zealand

for the period from October 2011 to December 2011

return to India. He was accompanied

by Swami Atmeshananda. A special

prayer meeting was held on Sunday,

the 6th of November 2011 at the Dulwich

Community Centre. He gave a talk

on ‘Ramakrishna and Vedanta’. This

was a rare opportunity for the local

devotees to seek the blessings of

Revered Swamiji.

BRISBANE CENTRE

Daily activities:

Morning worship, evening ārti, bhajans, and readings from The Gospel of Sri

Ramakrishna are the regular activities

at the Centre at 181 Burbong Street,

Chapel Hill, Qld 4073, (Phone no. 07

-3720 0228). A resident volunteer

looks after the day-to-day activities at

the Centre.

Monthly and other activities:

a) Swami Atmeshananda conducted

the Bhagavad-Gitā class in October

2011. He and Swami Damodarananda

visited Brisbane from the 6th to the 10th

of October 2011. There was a prayer

meeting on the 9th of October 2011.

b) Swami Sridharananda chaired the

AGM on 16th of October 2011.

CANBERRA CENTRE

Swami Sridharananda conducted

classes on the Bhagavad-Gitā twice a

month at the Majura Community

Centre in Canberra. He also gave

parlour talks based on the Yoga

Sutras of Patanjali once a month.

Contacts: Mr. J. Venkataraman,

Secretary - 02-6258 7612 and Dr. Ian

Doherty, Treasurer - 02-6247 8519.

MELBOURNE CENTRE

Daily Activities:

Vesper service is held daily at the

Centre at 7 Judy Court, Vermont,

Vic 3133 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. It

includes set hymns, scriptural readings

and meditation and occasional

devotional singing.

The bookstall made available literature

on Ramakrishna-Vivekananda,

Vedanta philosophy, and other spiritual

topics in print, audio, and visual media

throughout the period. For further

information please contact Mr.

Suresh Ravinutala, Secretary, on 03-

9803 6154 or Mr. Mohana Krishnan

on 03-9801 6174.

Weekly/Monthly Activities:

a) Swami Sridharananda continued

to deliver monthly discourses on the

Bhagavad-Gitā from Thursday to

Saturday of a prescheduled week at

Monash University Clayton Campus

of Law, Wellington Road (L. Theatre

L1). The Thursday and Friday sessions

were from 7:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. and

the sessions on Saturdays were from

11 a.m. to 12 noon. The recordings

of these discourses are available in

Audio, Video and MP3 formats.

b) Prayer Meetings were conducted

on the first Sunday of every month,

from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. which included

prayer, recitation of sacred mantras,

singing of kirtan and bhajans, followed

by selected readings from the scriptures

and discussions on them by the

participants. The meetings concluded

with an ārati and the distribution of prasād.

c) A Group study on Bhagavad-Gitā continued every alternate Sunday from

9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

d) Group study through viewing of

the ‘Mundaka Upanishad’ lecture

series on Video is held every Sunday

from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and the ‘Yoga Sutras of Patanjali’ lecture series

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 2 January 2012

Swami Damodarananda addressed Adelaide devotees Devotees at the Spiritual Retreat

every Friday from 10:30 a.m. to

11:30 a.m.

Celebrations:

a) The birth anniversary of Holy

Mother Sri Sarada Devi was observed

on the 15th of December 2011. The

programme started at 5 p.m. and

concluded at about 7:30 p.m.

Other Activities:

Swami Damodarananda accompanied

by Swami Atmeshananda, visited

Melbourne Centre from the 2nd to

the 5th of November 2011. A special

meeting was conducted on the 3rd of

November 2011.

PERTH CENTRE

Daily Activities:

The Centre located at 51 Golf View

Street, Yokine W.A. 6060 holds

vesper service daily at 7 p.m. with

arati, readings from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, and meditation.

The Centre maintains a small book-

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 3 January 2012

started at 11 a.m. and concluded at

about 12 noon.

b) Christmas Day was celebrated on

the 25th of December 2011 from 11

a.m. to 12 noon with a reading from

the life of Jesus Christ and singing of

carols.

Other activities:

Swami Damodarananda accompanied

by Swami Atmeshananda, visited the

Perth Centre from the 7th to the 10th

of November 2011. A special prayer

meeting was conducted on the 9th of

November 2011.

SYDNEY CENTRE

Daily Activities:

Daily worship, chanting and meditation

are held every morning from 6 a.m.

to 7:30 a.m. at 2 Stewart Street,

Ermington. The vesper service starts

at 7 p.m. in the evening which

includes devotional singing, a reading

from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

and meditation. Counselling, interviews

and discussions with devotees are

also conducted on a daily basis. The

library is available to devotees for

reference and research. The Centre

maintains a bookstall which has a

range of books on the Ramakrishna-

Vivekananda, Vedanta, Yoga, and

other spiritual literature. Devotional

songs, discourses on the Bhagavad Gitā, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,

Mundaka Upanisad, and other topics

are also available in various media.

Weekly/ Monthly Activities:

The Centre conducted the following

activities in Sydney:

a) Swami Sridharananda conducted

classes on the Bhagavad-Gitā every

stall and a library. Contacts: Mr. Unni

Krishnan - Secretary - 0430 391 369,

Mr. K.P. Basu Mallick - 0422 370 066.

Monthly Activities:

a) Swami Sridharananda visited the

Centre every month from Thursday

to Saturday on prescheduled weeks

and conducted discourses on Bhagavad

Gitā. About 50 devotees attend the

discourses.

b) Monthly satsang which includes

the singing of bhajans and readings

from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

and other inspiring books were

conducted on the first Sunday of every

month from 11 a.m.

Celebrations:

a) The birth anniversary of Holy

Mother Sri Sarada Devi was held

on the 17th December 2011. The

programme which comprised of reading

from the Gospel of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and singing of Bhajans,

Swami Damodarananda in a prayer meeting at the Melbourne Centre on 3rd

November 2011. (inset Swami Damodarananda)

The worship of the Divine Mother Sri Durga and Prasad distribution

Swami Damodarananda and the Audience in the Prayer Meeting at the Sydney Centre

Sunday morning from 9:30 a.m. to

10:30 a.m. at the Centre.

b) Classes on Bhagavad Gitā

were also conducted by Swami

Sridharananda at 1/11 Boyle Street,

Balgowlah, NSW 2093 Manly

Beach on Tuesdays from 7:30 p.m.

to 8:30 p.m.

c) Some devotees availed themselves

of spiritual counselling and guidance.

The Swamis also visited the homes

of devotees when required.

d) Meditation sessions were held at

the Ermington Centre on Sundays

from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

e) Classes on Sanskrit language

were held on Saturdays and Sundays

for various levels of elderly students.

f) Bala Sangha Classes on moral

and spiritual lessons and drama and

movement were conducted for children

every Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to

6:45 p.m. at the Centre during the

academic term.

g) Classes on moral and spiritual

lessons were also conducted for children

at Carlingford West Primary School

and Eastwood Public School on

Wednesdays from 9:15 a.m. to 10:30

a.m. during the academic term.

h) For the benefit of students the

Centre provided English Language

tutoring on Tuesdays from 5:30 p.m.

to 6:45 p.m. during the school term.

Celebrations:

a) Worship of the Divine Mother

Sri Durga was held on the 4th of

October, the Mahā-astami (eighth

lunar day). About 700 devotees

participated in the day long function.

b) The birth anniversary of Holy

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 4 January 2012

month satsang programmes, which

include singing of bhajans, discourse

on the Ramayana, reading and

discussion about the direct disciples

of Sri Ramakrishna and meditation

were conducted from 11 a.m. to 1

p.m.

b) On the last Sunday of every

month reading and discussion on the

Bhagavad Gitā, the Gospel of Sri

Ramakrishna, the life and teachings of

Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda

were conducted in addition to the

above. Music and chanting classes

were also held on these days.

c) Swami Sridharananda conducted

Bhagavad Gita classes from the 3rd

to the 6th of November 2011.

Celebrations:

a) Durga Puja was celebrated on the

3rd of October 2011. The programme

started after evening ārati at 8 p.m.

and included bhajans and talks

on Divine Mother Durga. The

programme ended at 9 p.m. with

prasād distribution.

b) Holy Mother’s birth anniversary

was celebrated on 17th December

2011. The programme started at 8

p.m. after the evening ārati and

included bhajans and talks on Holy

Mother’s life and teachings. The

programme concluded with the

distribution of prasad after 9 p.m.

c) Christmas eve was celebrated on

the 24rth of December 2011. The

programme started at 8 p.m. and

ended at 9 p.m. and included bhajans

and talks on Jesus Christ and his

teachings. Prasād was distributed at

9 p.m.

Mother Sri Sarada Devi was celebrated

on the 15th of December 2011. The

programme started at 9 a.m. and

concluded at about 12:30 p.m.

It included formal worship, havan,

bhajans, floral offering followed by

ārati and prasād distribution. The

programme was attended by about

300 devotees. Swami Sridharananda

delivered a talk on ‘The life and

teachings of Holy Mother Sri Sarada

Devi’ after the evening ārati.

c) Christmas Eve was celebrated

after ārati on the 24rth of December

2011 with singing of carols and

reading from the Bible.

Other Activities:

a) A special farewell meeting was

held for Swami Damodarananda at

10:30 a.m. on the 30th of October

2011. Various devotees highlighted

many aspects of his loving nature,

care for devotees and his pioneering

services for the Vedanta movement

in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

He also addressed the devotees.

Overseas Visit: Swami Sridharananda visited Auckland,

New Zealand from the 31st of October

to the 7th of November 2011.

AUCKLAND CENTRE

Daily activities:

A vesper service is held daily at the

Centre at 27 Arawa Street, New

Lynn, Auckland from 7 p.m. to 8

p.m. It includes the singing of

hymns and readings from the text

Portait of Sri Ramakrishna followed

by meditation.

Monthly and annual activities:

a) On the second Sunday of every

Swami Damodarananda

Gist of speeches given in the

Prayer meeting at the Perth Centre

By Srilakshmi

Dear Swamiji,

My brother Vignesh and I first met

you in 2003 when we were ten and

eight years old. At each of your

satsangs, we were the only two children

and so we were petrified and scared

of you. Each time at the satsang, we

sang bhajans. At one of the satsangs,

half way through our singing, you

stopped us and told us to sing louder

than you. We were embarrassed and

upset, but we kept our chins up. As

soon as we got into the car, we were

in tears the whole way home, which

was an hour away! My brother and I

then decided that we were not going

to go to anymore satsangs and so we

told our mother this, hoping she

would be on our side. Instead, she

told us that we should be thankful to

Swamiji for giving us an opportunity

to improve ourselves and our singing.

Nevertheless, my brother and I made a

pact that we weren’t going to go anymore.

But not long after that, we found out

that Swamiji was returning to Sydney.

While you were in Sydney, we continued

to attend the monthly satsangs.

However, in 2007, we found out that

you were coming back to the Bull-

Creek Ashram and so my brother

and I decided to renew our pact of not

going to the Ashram. But we went

and got to know you better. You did not

scold us and we enjoyed the Saturday

children’s classes you conducted. We

were the only two children.

So, on behalf of my brother and I, I

would like to thank you very much

for your good teachings, blessings

and most importantly, the love you

showed us. We will both never forget

this. Even though you will be going

to India, your love, blessings and

presence will definitely be here always.

By Janet Waghray

It was quite difficult for me when I

first wanted to come to Ramakrishna

Mission because I didn’t really know

anyone and it was held in people’s

own private houses and I was a little

shy, but anyway, I came, and Swami

Damodaranandaji was there who

made me feel very welcome.

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 5 January 2012

Address by

Swami Damodarananda

(edited and reworded)

Dear Swami Sridharanandaji, Swami

Atmeshanandaji and other devotees,

I am glad you have all come here in

the name of a few good words of

instruction and a few deeds of service

that I have been able to offer to all of

you by the grace of Sri Ramakrishna,

Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda.

It is by their grace that this has all

happened and even now it is by their

grace that we are all gathered here

and I am going to the headquarters to

be living with our brother monks

there during the last part of my life in

the Ramakrishna Mission.

God's Grace

All of you have heard enough praises

(drum bitting) of all the noble deeds that

have happened through me.

Perhaps one of the greatest deeds that

has happened is, that by the grace of

Sri Ramakrishna, I was able to invite

Swami Sridharanandaji here in 1993,

and then in 1997, and finally, Sri

Ramakrishna blessed you all by

sending him here to look after you.

That is the greatest blessing of Sri

Guru Maharaj here – the service that

I started in a humble way has been

properly crowned by Sri Ramakrishna

by sending a Swami, one of the best

children of Sri Ramakrishna, well

versed in scriptures and very capable

of expressing it with all love and

concern, concern for the devotees

and I am very happy about that.

Accumulated Tendencies

Apart from that, what is to be known

by all of you is that, everything that

happens is, by the grace of God and

the accumulated tendencies that we

have, and according to that dharma

we are led forward.

Bhagawan Sri Ramana – my first

source of inspiration

As you all know, it is because of

some good karma that I have, that

when I was a boy I was inspired by

Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi when I

came to know about him through the

pictorial booklet Bhagawan Sri

He was the first Swami I got to

know. So later, when I heard that a

new Centre was to be established,

and also that he was to be in charge

there, I was in Seventh Heaven! And

he gave me my spiritual name, Janaki

Amma, at Bull Creek.

When I brought flowers for the altar,

he would strip off the leaves and just

put them straight into the vase and

suddenly there was a most beautiful

flower arrangement! Then when I

cleared up, I think he knew every

speckle in that carpet, because he

noticed any bits of leaves that I had

left. Also when I swept the outside,

he knew where every speck of dust

and cobwebs were!

I used to attend the Upanishad classes

that he held. One day he was

explaining something very lofty and

intricate to us, when he suddenly

broke off, and after a moment’s

silence, he said sharply, “Why don’t

you cut your toenails?” I explained

how I had once banged and hurt my

big toe and the nail had partly come

away, which is why so much white

was showing, and indeed it was

trimmed. “Oh, alright.” he said.

But all this was to ensure that we

take care to pay attention to details

in all things, to be meticulous, and it

showed his concern to make vases

out of raw flowers so also with our

personalities. Swamiji has taught me

very many things and I am very

grateful indeed, and all I can say is

“Thank you.”

Ramana. It came to our hostel, and

the carried-forward tendency of my

past lives immediately aroused me

and inspired me, and from within told

me that this was the best thing that

had happened in my life. I had not

known until then anybody who had

attained ‘that highest spiritual joy and

peace that passeth all understanding’.

I thought to myself that my first duty

was to go and offer myself at his feet

and to start my spiritual life. I knew

that it was very difficult to get an

opportunity to have such a person

who had reached illumination and

therefore felt that I had to go there

and see Bhagawan.

Within two or three days, when I

went to the hall in his ashram, and

saw that he was with a few devotees, I

just offered my salutations and leaned

against the wall about six feet away

from where he was sitting, as I was so

exhausted from not having partaken

any food just with the joy of going to

meet him. Sri Ramana just looked at

me when I went in, and he continued

staring at me. He never asked 'who are

you, where do you come from, what is

the matter...' nothing! He just stared at

me with his very open eyes, continuously

gazing at me and I was so happy that

the face of the great saint looked at

me, that I also began staring at him. In

this manner, he was looking at me,

and I was looking at him, and I was so

happy from within, for getting the

blessings from a great spiritual illumined

person and feeling holy vibrations as

soon as I went in the presence of the

great man.

Gradually his eyes became half-

closed and with half closed eyes in

natural absorption into the spiritual

bliss within (in his natural Samadhi),

he continued to stay there. In that

manner, my spiritual life started and I

began living there in the ashrama. I

was allotted to be one of the workers

assisting in the kitchen and while I

stayed there in that capacity, every

time I had some time to spare, I

would go down to the hall to have

what inspirational words of wisdom

Bhagawan was giving to the devotees.

I participated in such meets and tried to

understand more about spiritual matters.

In that manner, my time there went on.

Taken to The Trinity

While there, fortunately, by the grace of

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 6 January 2012

I would run away from them again

and again and so then they left me to

myself! Thus I was saved!

Swami Virajanandaji Maharaj –

the second source of inspiration

My good fortune took me to my own

Gurudev: Swami Virajanandaji Maharaj,

in Belur Math, who happens to be the

guru of Swami Sridharananda. He was

Holy Mother’s disciple, and Swami

Vivekananda gave him sannyasa.

Such was my Guru. In 1946, I could

take diksha and brahmcharya from

him. And then, when I stayed for a

few months at Belur Math I used to go

almost daily to my Gurudeva and talk

to him and get his blessings.

So that was the second man of realisation.

The third one was the Chandrashekhara

Bharati who was a man of realisation

that I got the blessings of him also. . . In

this manner, from the man of realisation

Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi who

first inspired me, I was then offered to

the Ramakrishna Mission because of

my past carried forward tendencies.

Swami Chandrashekhara Bharati –

the third source of inspiration

In this manner, as I was moving forward

in spiritual life in my own way - by

my practices and efforts, I happened to

meet another great man of realisation

Swami Chandrashekhara Bharathi of

Sringeri, a disciple of Nrisimha Bharati,

another great man of spiritual realisation

at Sringeri.

He used to be in his own divine, spiritual

absorption, and he wouldn't know

whether he was even wearing clothes

or not. Such a man of spiritual realisation,

such a noble and spiritually illumined

person.

The day when I went to see him, he

came in as scheduled to visit his

Guru’s temple where there was an

image of Nrisingha Bharati at about

11 o’clock. All of us devotees were

there, and he was standing and receiving

our offerings of pranams from all of

us. When my turn came he asked me,

“Where are you from?” I was a brah-

machari at that time, and I told him “I

am from the Ramakrishna Mission in

Bangalore.” The moment he heard the

name 'Ramakrishna' he exclaimed,

“Oh!” He had such great respect for

Sri Ramakrishna, the organisation and the

spiritual movement. Then afterwards, of

course, I was able to get some more

Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna I happened to

read about the life of Sri Ramakrishna

for the very first time. Until then, I

had never known that there had been

great spiritual giants before Ramana

Maharishi. However, in this manner,

I came to know about Sri Ramakrishna,

Holy Mother Sarada Devi and Swami

Vivekananda. Once again I was

inspired and I thought that again the

voice spoke to me to move forward...

Oh! And with these thoughts I

stayed there till the time when my

grandmother and my uncle came

from Madras with a car to take me

away to Madras, I had to go with

them. . . And some time later, I got

one more chance to get away from

Maya. It was the attraction for higher

life and these thoughts made my goal

of life higher and I came to join the

Ramakrishna Math and Mission.

After going to Madras with my

grandmother, I was enrolled in an

Engineering College. I cycled to and

fro and also went to the Madras

Math, to meet the monks, and also to

go to the temple and meditate there

and all my spiritual pursuits started

again. And thus I was so happy to continue

to be in the company of the monks and

the Brahmacharis of the Ramakrishna

Order, and began tasting the teachings

of Swami Vivekananda.

Swami Vivekananda in his text, 'The

Complete Works' says things to the

effect of: 'You have led the ordinary

way of life of eating drinking marrying

and settling down. In that way so

many lives have passed. Can you

not offer one life completely to the

Lord, renouncing everything?' ... ,

And again by studying him couple of

years I was inspired, Oh That’s the

thing! … and the family said, “What

now? We have spent money on his

studies of engineering”. However, I

thought, “My life isn’t to be wasted,

my life would be finished in this

ordinary way of life. No, I do not

want this!” and I wanted to offer

myself to the joy of the service and

spirituality alone and nothing else.

Fortunately around that time, I

happened to meet one of Holy Mother’s

disciples, Swami Aseshanandaji and

he inspired me so much as well. Then

my family came for me again, but,

they then thought that I would take

myself off again and the situation

was irreparable for they thought that

inspiration from that divine person.

He had spiritual powers in him to not

only know what was happening, but

also knew what was going to happen

in the future as well, so much so, that

one day when a person of political

importance was still coming near the

gate to meet him, he requested his

assistant to kindly inform the visitor

that due to some prior commitments,

he would not be able to meet the visitor.

Swami Chandrashekhara Bharati was

a spiritually illumined person.

Swami Shankharanandaji Maharaj

– another source of inspiration

Yet another source of such inspiration

to me was Swami Shankharanandaji

Maharaj whom Swami Sridharanandaji

knows very well. I didn’t have that

much of contact with him, but I used

to meet him when I was at Belur Math

and offer my salutations, and then he

used to bless me.

Swami Jagadanandaji Maharaj –

another source of inspiration

Then finally, I met another man,

another sage of renunciation, Swami

Jagadanandaji Maharaj who translated

the book about the life of Sri Ramakrishna

written by Swami Saradananda: The

Great Master Sri Ramakrishna into

English. He used to come from Almora

in the Himalayas to our Vrindavan

Sevashram to stay during the winter

time, and he used to hold the Upanishad

class for all the monks in the morning

from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. He used to

inspire us. He was a man of realisation

and of supreme knowledge, bliss and

love.

At Vrindavan, I was pujari, - the

priest at the old temple, not the new

one. The old one was near the river

just in front of the river, and of course

every year we had the joy of receiving

the Yamuna: She used to flood her

waters in the hospital and all surrounding

places, we had to take all the patients

up, and had to face other problems.

Nowadays we don’t have that problem,

now it’s built on the main road itself.

Coming back to the topic, Swami

Jagadanandaji Maharaj used to come

to the temple, at about 11 a.m., after

his bath, and he used to come with so

much of holy vibration - a man of

complete absorption and I used to

have his darshan while he was in that

mood, completely absorbed in joy.

He’d fall at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 7 January 2012

completely absorbed with that peace

and joy that passeth all understanding,

as Jesus said, and he was about to fall

down, and from behind him, his assistant,

Hridayram was holding him. In that

photo, when you see his face, you’ll

understand what a beautiful photo the

photographer has taken, for, you can

see the peace and joy that beamed

from Sri Ramakrishna's face. That

picture has really taken me over as it

were, and so I distribute this to the

devotees, to know what is peace and

bliss in the human form, the divine

incarnation in this modern age.

People hadn't taken photos during the

times of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna or

Buddha or Christ, and so all the pictures

that we have of these incarnations are

from the imaginations of the artists.

However, the real photograph, actually

were taken when Sri Ramakrishna

was communing with the divine, we

can get so very inspired with that!

So these are some of the spiritual

inspirations that I got from the great

spiritual leaders from outside and

from our own Mission, the great leaders

of our organisation.

My humble suggestions to you devotees

I would like all of you, if you don’t

mind, to try to commune with the

great Guru Maharaj of Dakshineswar,

and Swami Vivekananda by reading the

great books which are very important.

“God Lived With Them” – which

tells us about all the direct monastic

disciples of Sri Ramakrishna and

how he inspired them, and what needs

to be the daily spiritual practices and

what is spirituality. The book reveals

that Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual power

was so great, by thought and by touch,

Sri Ramakrishna used to inspire the

devotees. Similarly, the book, “They

Lived With God.” tells us about

householder devotees.

Please note these books and you can

purchase those books and read! You’ll

be helped so much to commune with

the divine, about how Ramakrishna

was trying to help them towards spiritual

illumination and in turn you will get

inspiration.

Nistarini Ghosh – a householder devotee

“They Lived With God.” tells us one

incident about Nistarini Ghosh, a

great householder who went to Sri

like a stick and then stay for a while

like that, and again get up, and again

completely get absorbed spiritually.

In the evening he used to walk along

the Yamuna on the roadside. There

used to be sannyasins and brahmacharins

surrounding Swami Jagadananda

Maharaj and like a child he used to

eat the fresh groundnuts that were

being sold by the children, all the

while speaking about spiritual life,

the Ramakrishna Mission, Thakkur,

Swamiji and all such spiritual matters.

Every day passed in that manner.

When Swami Jagadanandaji Maharaj

was giving up his body, in Vrinda-

van, one of our monks, was massag-

ing his legs as they were becoming

cold, and we were chanting during

his last moments, when Swamiji

spoke up loudly saying: “Hey, what

are you doing? Do you remember

Satyam Jnanam Anandam Brahma!”

And in that manner, speaking loudly

about the divine, he gave up his body

in Vrindavan.

Sri Ramakrishna - the greatest

incarnation of the modern age

These are some of the great incidents

about men of spiritual realisation

with whom I happened to spend some

time. My life was thus truly inspired

by being with these great souls

progressed spiritually towards that

great ideal of the Shruti evolution of

which Sri Ramakrishna happens to be

the greatest incarnation of the modern age.

Quite naturally I would like to tell

you devotees, that it is a very rare

opportunity that we have, to know

about Sri Ramakrishna’s communion

with the divine.

The pictures of Sri Ramakrishna were

taken when he was not conscious of

his body. This picture which we see

here was taken by a photographer

when he was completely absorbed,

sitting at one of the temples in

Dakshineswar, without any body

consciousness. When he was con-

scious about the body, he never used

to allow anyone to take photos of

him. He said, “What! This body is

going to be burned away, and you are

taking photos!” Like that, he used to

scare away the people.

In the great photo that was taken

when he was with the Brahmo Samaj

leader, Keshab Chandra Sen, he was

Ramakrishna one day along with her

husband and she requested, “I want to

have the vision of my chosen ideal,

Sri Ramachandra.”

Around that time in the temple garden

at Dakshineswar there was a mother

cat and her few kitten, whom the servants

used to drive away from every place,

and the mother cat used to carry her

kitten through every part of the temple

garden. The servants used to even

beat them. Finally it came to Sri

Ramakrishna’s room and took shelter

there. Ramakrishna allowed the mother

cat and the kitten to stay there. So Sri

Ramakrishna told her, “Certainly you

will have it, but one thing you’ll have

to do. Will you please take this mother

cat and kitten home and look after

them?” Nistarini agreed. “Is that all?

That I can do but I want to have the

vision of my deity.” “That you definitely

will have,” Sri Ramakrishna replied.

“Just look after these kittens and

you’ll have peace” Therefore, Nistarini

stayed at home, and looking after the

cat and the kitten. Soon, one day,

when she was meditating after offering

her pranams to Sri Ramachandra, she

suddenly looked up and Sri Ramachandra

appeared to her, and she was so happy!

Again she did pranam, and again she

looked up, and she found Sri Ramakrishna

there. First it was Sri Ramachandra,

then it was Sri Ramakrishna! Then Sri

Ramakrishna smiled and blessed her,

“Now you know who Sri Ramachandra

and Ramakrishna are”.

In such a manner, the blessings that

Sri Ramakrishna gave to the householders

and sannyasins, is full of spiritual

illumination. It is okay to carry on

with the external activities that we do,

but, the spiritual blessings that we get

from these pages is a different matter

– they are really very inspiring.

Therefore do read those books. They

will simply change your life; so much

of spiritual capacity was gained by the

householders with the interaction with

Sri Ramakrishna, the Holy Mother

and Swami Vivekananda and the direct

disciples.

Latu Maharaj

Latu Maharaj used to be a servant

somewhere and when Sri Ramakrishna

saw him bringing flowers and fruits

from Ramchandra Datta, he knew that

this young boy was a spiritually

oriented person. Latu was also very

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 8 January 2012

the Bhagavad Gita so beautifully, to

all of you and in this way you can

spiritualise yourself – that is my

request to all of you. Be in touch with

this holy literature and the Swamis

who are coming regularly - you ask

them and they will all help you to

spiritualise yourself.

Thank you very much for having

come here today, to make this day in

which we meet together and say Bye

bye to one another. And those of you

who happen to come to Belur Math, I

will be glad to meet you by the grace

of Sri Ramakrishna and how long It

will happen to be there, I don’t know,

anyway . . .By the grace of Sri Guru

Maharaj we will meet and will be able

to move forward in spiritual life by

His grace. Thank you very much.

Gist of an article by

Dr. Yatendra Sharma

It is 10th November 2011 - Purnamasi

day. Swami Damodarananda is bidding

farewell to the Perth devotees as he

prepares to leave for India after several

decades of selfless service to the

community in Australia and surrounding

regions.

My thoughts go back to that day in

1991 when Swami Damodarananda

kept us engrossed with his bhajans

and satsang at the Siva Temple in

Perth. He talked about Sri Ramakrishna

as the embodiment of Lord Rama in

Ayodhya and Lord Krishna in Mathura.

Swami Damodaranada, with his sweet

voice and deep insight gave us a

glimpse of the great Sri Ramakrishna’s

spiritual message. Although he was

based in Fiji at that time, he travelled all

around Australia and continued to

visit Perth twice a year. His practical

words of wisdom were sought after by

many devotees and never failed to

dispel the doubts and anxieties in their

minds.

I recall the day when his presence and

words changed my whole life. It was

1993 – a disastrous year of recession

– and like many Australians I too was

looking out for a job. When I met

Swami Damodaranandaji at that time,

he noticed my anxious face and

remarked “You look anxious ! What

happened?” And I tried to be casual.

anxious to be with Sri Ramakrishna.

So one day Sri Ramakrishna asked

him, “Would you like to stay with

me?”. 'Yes', was the reply. So Sri

Ramakrishna asked Ram Chandra

Datta, “Can you give your servant to

me?” and he was readily given. And

as a result, what happened was that

boy became Swami Adbhutananda.

One day when Latu Maharaj was

sleeping in Sri Ramakrishna’s room,

Sri Ramakrishna said to him, “Get

up! Don’t just sleep at night! When

are you going to meditate and spiritualise

yourself if you sleep now? Get up!”

Sri Ramakrishna then gave him a

mantra and guided him to spiritual

illumination. The servant boy became a

spiritual giant, and Swami Vivekananda

named him Swami Adbhutananda.

He did prove to be a wonderful creation

of Sri Ramakrishna, and though he

had just been a servant boy, he

became a spiritual giant. One day some-

body asked Latu Maharaj, Swami

Adbhutananda, “That supreme being

which is everywhere, how can it be

in every living being and everything?”

Then Latu Maharaj answered, “That

supreme sun, that one sun, who is

blazing in the sky also can be seen in

all drops of water? Early in the morning

when you go out and see in every leaf

there are drops and the same sun is

blazing in every drop of water that it

gets in the morning. Similarly, every

name and form is just blazing with

that supreme being, only we have to

move forwards spiritually to realise

that”. So the purpose of life is spiritu-

alising oneself by the help of the

great spiritual giants; they are the

first ones to be with.

My request to you therefore is to be

in tune with the spiritual life of these

great incarnations;

Four other very important books are

there by Swami Vivekananda. The

Four Yogas: Karma yoga, Bhakti

Yoga, and then the path of meditation,

Raja Yoga and the path of philosophy,

Jnana Yoga. These 4 small books, are

very important and will be easy for

you to go through and understand as

well.

Also, our Swami Sridharananda,

fortunately comes regularly to all of

you, despite all his problems of

health. You can always ask questions

to him. He is also continually explaining Continued at page 16

Feature article

Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi as a true Sahadharmini

Introduction: Mother’s wise advice

to one complaining of work

A disciple-son of the Mother was

married and was earning his livelihood as a teacher in a village school. His

earnings were just enough to provide

the family with food and clothing. From his boyhood his interests were

all directed towards spiritual life.

Later as he came to know of Sri

Ramakrishna and got the grace of

the Mother, he had a great desire for spending the rest of his days in spiritual

practice. So he gave up family life to become a Sadhu, and joined an

Ashrama. In the Ashrama there were

too many kinds of jobs to be done. Gradually he found the work assigned

to him increasing in volume. Every

inmate there had to work day and

night. So, how could he sit quiet and

spend his time in Japa and Dhyana? After some time he completely lost

his peace of mind. He had abandoned

his life as a householder so that he could engage himself in spiritual

practices undisturbed. But he found that conditions in that Ashrama were

even worse. One day he came to the

Mother and narrated to her his tale of woe. Hearing everything, the

Mother said, “Well, my child, it is

like moving from the frying pan to the fire. It is not an Ashrama but a

second household for you!” The mother advised him to bear everything

patiently, always remembering the

Master. “If you really have a passionate desire for spiritual practices,” she

said, “the Master will arrange for the

needed facilities at the right time.”

A true Sahadharmini

The Master took pains to make the

Holy Mother efficient in both spiritual

and secular matters, and prepared her

for the great mission that he was to

entrust to her at the close of his life.

By careful education he helped to

make her a true Sahadharmini, a fellow

-seeker in the higher values of life. It

was the resuscitation of the Vedic

ideal of the Pativrata, according to

which man and woman got fused into

a common ideal and purpose in life.

The man and the woman, brought

together as husband and wife, are

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 9 January 2012

that had unconsciously become hers

as much as her husband’s.

The seriousness and sincerity behind

this challenging reply she proved

before long when Sri Ramakrishna

decided to subject himself to what

may be called a fiery ordeal. His

teacher Totapuri had told him on

knowing him to be married, that this

was not much of a risk for him. For a

sincere Sadhaka, an earnest aspirant

struggling in the spiritual path, it is

highly necessary to keep aloof from

the company of women. But if and

when he attains to realisation, his

moral purity will not be of the cloistered

type based on difference, but on the

apprehension of the one Self in man

and woman alike-an apprehension

which helps one to surmount the

identification of the self with the body.

The Master therefore utilised the

presence of Sarada Devi at

Dakshineswar to allow her the ‘right’

of a wife in the fullest sense as well

as to test how far his Brahman-

knowledge had raised him above the

bodily sense. For a period of about

six months this ascetic of ascetics

had his wife sleep in his own room

and the spiritual awareness of them

both put to the acid test. They stood

it wonderfully well. The Master’s

mind went only into deep Samadhi

and never to the bodily passion. He

also gave equal credit to Sarada Devi

when he said, “Had she not been so

pure, who knows whether I would

not have lost my self-control from

her inducement. After marriage I had

prayed to the Divine Mother, ‘O

Mother! Remove even the least trace

of carnality from the mind of my wife.’

When I lived with her, I understood

that the Mother had really granted

my prayer.”

And as for the Holy Mother herself,

we have her statement regarding her

experiences of those memorable

nights, “The divine state in which the

Master used to be absorbed, passes

all description. In an ecstatic mood,

he would smile or weep, or at times

remain perfectly still in Samadhi.

This would sometimes continue

throughout the night. In that divine

like two wheels moving together on

a common track towards a common

ideal. Dharma is that part of higher

evolution, and the discharge of one’s

social and spiritual duties in the

scripture-ordained way is the way of

progress along it. The Sahadharmini

of a spiritually oriented personage like

Sri Ramakrishna must necessarily be

one with that same outlook, if the

objective of that ideal is to be fulfilled.

It was because of this mutually

complementary nature of their

characters, that they have become

perfect ideals of both the married

state and the monastic values.

An examination of several incidents

of the Master’s life would amply

prove that this idea was always in

his mind. The Master had prayed to

the Divine Mother to free Sarada

from all bodily passions and make

her a suitable mate for himself. His

prayer was amply answered when,

after Sarada Devi’s arrival at

Dakshineswar, the Master pointedly

put her a question: “Do you want to

drag me down into Maya?” Sarada

Devi’s answer was equally prompt

and to the point. She replied, “Why

should I do so? I have come only to

help you in the path of religious

life.” A noble answer indeed for a

Pativrata and a true Sahadharmini.

Only a woman of immaculate purity

of mind could give such a reply.

There was no artifice in it, no hypocrisy

or attempt to please anybody. It was

the spontaneous expression of her

lofty nature, of the lofty ideal of life

Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi

(1853 -1920)

presence, my whole body would

tremble with awe that I would anxiously

await the dawn. For I knew nothing

of ecstasy in those days. One night

his Samadhi continued for a very

long time. Greatly frightened, I sent

for Hriday. He came and began to

repeat the name of the Lord in the

Master’s ears. When he had done this

for a little while, external consciousness

reappeared. After this incident, the

Master came to know of my difficulty

and taught me the appropriate divine

names that should be uttered in the

ear in particular states of Samadhi.

Thenceforth my fear was very much

lessened, as he would invariably

come to earthly consciousness on the

utterance of the particular divine

names. But even after this I some-

times kept awake the whole night, as

there was no knowing when he

would fall into Samadhi. In course of

time he came to know of my difficulty.

He learnt that even after the lapse of

a considerable length of time I could

not adjust myself to his Samadhi

temperament. So he asked me to

sleep separately at the Nahabat.”

The Shodasi Pooja

Another memorable event in the life

of this holy couple that took place

about this time was the Shodasi

Pooja, in which the Master offered

actual ceremonial worship to the Holy

Mother, seating her on the pedestal

of the deity. It took place during her

first visit to Dakshineswar when she

stayed there continuously from

March, 1872 to October 1873, for

more than a year and a half. It took

place on the night of Phalaharini Kali

Pooja day, when the Divine mother is

worshipped as a consumer of the

karmas of the devotee. Arrangements

for the worship were made in the

Master’s room, and Sarada was

requested to be present at the worship.

After the Master had gone through

the preliminary rites of worship, he

beckoned to Sarada Devi to sit on the

seat set apart for the Deity. He then

invoked the presence of the Divine

Mother in her with the Mantra, “O

Divine Mother! The mistress of all

powers, and the abode of all beauty!

Deign to unlock for me the gate to

perfection. Sanctifying the body and

mind of this woman, do thou manifest

Thyself through her and do what is

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 10 January 2012

Sri Ramakrishna, the Divine Incarnation

of the age, invoked the presence of

the Divine Mother in her, and

worshipped her as such, she was elevated

in truth and in reality from Sarada, the

daughter of Ramachandra, to Sarada,

the Holy Mother, the manifestation

of the Eternal Mother of the Universe,

for all of humanity to worship. The

Master had from the time of his

marriage been praying to the Mother

of the Universe to divinise the person

of his wife, and her answer to a lead-

ing question he put to her as a test

proved that the transformation was

largely effected, and that she was in

all respects a partner in life well-

matched with him in all respects.

And now by the performance of this

rite of Shodasi Pooja, in which he

identified the Deity with Sarada, and

surrendered all his spiritual practices

and their fruits to her, he virtually

made her a participant of all his

austerities and spiritual attainments.

It is sometimes asked why the Holy

Mother did not perform Sadhanas

like the Master. She did perform

much in this field, but the real answer

is in the Shodasi Pooja, by virtue of

which the Holy Mother became a full

sharer in the spiritual glory of the

Master. As the spiritual counterpart of the

great world-teacher Sri Ramakrishna,

she had no need to re-enact the same

scenes of the one common drama

which they were together staging

before mankind. She had other parts

to play by way of fulfilling and

supplementing the Master’s work.

In another sense also the Shodasi

Pooja was a landmark in her life. It made

her a vital part of Sri Ramakrishna’s

Mission. In that rite the Master

invoked in her the presence of the

Divine Mother, the same Supreme

Energy that was manifesting in him.

Henceforth, just as in the Master’s

case, her body and mind became the

venue of expression for that Energy.

For the rest of her life she served the

Master and helped in his Mission,

and after his passing away, his mantle

fell on her, and through a long period

of spiritual ministry, she completed

what he had left unfinished.

Mutual Love and Respect

The Master’s life combined in itself

the highest ideals of the monastic life

and those of the householder. The

auspicious.” Then he went through

the procedures of a full ritualistic

worship with sixteen ingredients. He

first performed the Nyasa which

consists in touching the different

parts of one’s body with appropriate

Mantras and identifying them in

meditation with the corresponding

parts of the Deity. After that he offered

worship with sixteen items with

appropriate Mantras. In the course of

it he applied red paint to the soles of

Sarada Devi, put vermillion mark on

her forehead, put on her new cloth,

put a little of sweets and betel-leaf in

her mouth, and performed the Arati

(light-waving ceremony) before her.

The bashful Sarada received all these

acts of adoration without the least

feeling of hesitation. The sense of

identification with the Deity must

have come on her. Both the Master

and the Mother were in a state of

ecstatic and semi-conscious absorption

in the course of the worship, and by

the time it came to an end they were

in complete Samadhi in which the

worshipper and the worshipped

realised the identity of their being as

Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute.

After a considerable length of time,

when the second watch of the night

had fairly advanced, the Master

regained external consciousness.

Then he resigned himself completely

to the Divine Mother, and in a

supreme act of consecration, offered

to the Deity manifest before him, the

fruits of his austerities, his rosary,

himself and everything that was

his. He then uttered the following

Mantra, “O Goddess, I prostrate

myself before Thee again and again-

before Thee, the eternal consort of

Siva, the three-eyed, golden-hued,

the indwelling spirit in all, the giver

of refuge, the accomplisher of every

end, and the most auspicious among

all auspicious objects.”

The significance of this rite in the

lives of these two great personages

can hardly ever be estimated. For

Sri Ramakrishna it signified the final

triumph of the spirit over the body,

and the recognition of Divinity in all.

It marked the successful conclusion

of his spiritual strivings, and his es-

tablishment in the state of the ‘divine

man.’ In the life of Sri Sarada Devi,

too, it had a deep significance. When

Master always taught man the gospel

of renunciation of Kamini-Kanchana

(translated literally as ‘Woman and

Gold’, but meaning ‘lust and greed’),

and had it not been for the advent of

the Holy Mother into his life, he

would have been taken to be only a

hard-baked ascetic and nothing more.

But his very cordial and affectionate

relationship with the Mother, treating

her as the first and foremost of his

disciples and attendants, has lifted

married life above the level of the

physical aspects and made it a potent

spiritual relationship. The crusader

against ‘Kamini-Kanchana’ showed

the highest consideration and respect

to the Holy Mother. The welcome he

extended to her on her first appearance

was in itself an unexpected mark of

cordiality, Not only was he particular

about keeping her in comfort, he

even thought of providing something

for her future. Calculating the minimum

amount required monthly for her

maintenance as Rupees six, he had

six hundred rupees deposited with

the Zamindari Office of Balaram

Bose, the interest of which was to go

for her maintenance. He divined her

liking to wear ornaments and spent

three hundred rupees to have a pair

of bracelets, made for her. This is a

tradition according to which Sri

Ramakrishna had a vision of Sita at

the Panchavati. He found her wearing a

pair of bracelets with many tiny facets

like diamonds. It was in imitation of

these that he made for her golden

bracelets which she wore till the last.

Yogin-ma, describing her appearance

in those early days, says, “She wore a

piece of cloth with broad red borders

and put vermillion at the parting of

her hair. Her thick black tresses almost

touched her knees. She wore a gold

necklace, a big nose ring, ear rings

and bracelets. Most of these were

what Mathur Babu made for the

Master when he practised spiritual

disciplines assuming the role of a

handmaid of the Divine Mother.”

While receiving all of her loving

services, and moving with her in all

frankness and childish innocence, the

Master always maintained an attitude

of profound respect towards her as

his spiritual counterpart and fulfiller

of his life’s Mission. This attitude

was generally implicit, but some-

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 11 January 2012

of the home, she will remain completely

unattached in her heart. The household

was, in her view, the Master’s. One

had to remain in it playing the part he

was allotted. Good and bad, joy and

sorrow, came and passed off according

to one’s Karma. Without getting

disturbed in mind by thinking about

them, one should keep one’s devotion

to God steady and bear everything

that came with patience. One should

shake off the attachment for the

worldly objects as the ducklings

shake off water from their bodies.

These teachings were always conveyed

by the Mother’s instructions, behaviour

and actions.

The glories and grandeurs of the

world, the wealth and possessions

that one enjoys, are all transitory-this

minute they are, and the next minute

they may vanish. The prosperity that

the Mother had seen at Kamarpukur

during the first stage of her life there

had all disappeared later on. There

was the family of the Yugis towards

the north of the Master’s house in

Kamarpukur. The Mother used to say

about their condition in those days,

“Oh, how many were the members of

the family of the Yugis! But now see,

everything is gone. And what about

the wealth and property of the Lahas

who lived towards the east! Their

property was indescribable-there was

the guest house, the free feeding of

the poor, the temple with its adjoining

structures, the large number of men

and women inhabiting the house, the

performance of the various festivals

etc. There was hardly a month when

they had not had at least one festival.

And that pond at the back of the

house with its deep blue water! Ah!

Then think of the family of the Pines

to the south! Where have they all

gone now? It was a rich family with

many members. But now everything

is gone!” The mother would mention

these so that, realising the transitoriness

of worldly possessions, her sons may

be saved from the snares. If one can

always keep in mind that such things

vanish like a dream, one can develop

detachment in one’s mind.

Source:

The Mother as I saw Her: Reminiscences

of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi by Swami

Saradeshananda; Sri Ramakrishna Math,

Mylapore; page 9-15.

times expressed itself in striking

little actions. One day the Holy

Mother entered the Master’s room

with his meal. He thought it was his

niece Lakshmi, and asked her casually

to shut the door, addressing her as

’tui’, an expression meaning ‘thou’,

but used with reference to juniors or

inferior persons. When the Holy

Mother responded, the Master felt

very embarrassed and said, “Ah! Is it

you? I thought it was Lakshmi.

Please pardon me.” But the Holy

Mother tried to pacify him, saying

that there was nothing wrong in his

addressing her like that. But the

Master was not satisfied. Next morning

he went to the Nahabat and said the

he Holy Mother, “Well, I could not

sleep all night. I was so worried

because I spoke to you rudely.”

Referring to this incident, she often

said in later times, especially when

some of her relations behaved

disrespectfully, “I was married to a

husband who never addressed me as

’tui’. Ah! How he treated me! Not

even once did he tell me a harsh

word or wound my feelings. He did not

strike me even with a bunch of flowers.”

It will thus be seen that Sri Sarada

Devi received from her husband all

that a Hindu wife expects. Her own

mother Shyamasundari Devi once

lamented, “My Sarada has been married

to an ascetic, she will never know

the happiness of being addressed as

’mother’.” The Master, who heard it,

remarked, “Your daughter will have

so many children that she will be

tired of being addressed day and

night as ‘Mother’.” She was a

Sahadharmini, a companion in life,

not of an ordinary man, but of the

Incarnation of the age, who came to

generate Bhakti and Jnana among

men, and whose main teaching

inculcated renunciation of lust and

possessions. In conformity with his

ideals, which was hers too, the children

born of her were not physical but

spiritual, and of these she had a

countless number.

The Mother’s way of life in the

world

Though the Mother lived day and

night amidst the various activities of

her household and was as outwardly

engrossed as any one of the other

inmates in the works and responsibilities

[Continued from the previous

publication of Reach]

In Northern and Western India

Akhandananda went to Delhi. While

sitting on a park bench one day, he

thought, “If I meet a devotee of the

Master, I shall go to his house; otherwise

I shall pass the night right here.” A

Marwari gentleman was seated on

the other side of the bench. Out of

respect for a monk, he saluted

Akhandananda and offered him some

money, but Akhandananda would not

touch it. Then the Marwari said, “I have

seen only one great soul – Ramakrishna

Paramahamsa of Dakshineswar –

who completely renounced money.”

When Akhandananda inquired, he

said that he was Lakshminarayan

Marwari. He had once offered ten

thousand rupees to Sri Ramakrishna,

but the Master had refused to accept

it. Akhandananda was very happy to

meet another devotee of the Master,

and introduced himself to him. Then

Lakshminarayan joyfully took the

swami to his house.

Akhandananda stopped at Agra on his

way to Vrindaban, the playground of

Krishna. In March 1891 Akhandananda

arrived at Vrindaban and stayed for

nearly four months. While at Vrindaban,

he had a relapse of bronchitis. In May

he moved to Etawah accompanied by

Swami Nirmalananda. In Etawah, he

studied Sanskrit grammar and

Shridhara’s commentary on the Gita. On

the birthday of Krishna, Akhandananda

had the vision of the Master standing

near his head, saying, “Hello! Do the

people know that I came?” This vision

made his heart full of joy. He then

learned from a letter that Swamiji

was in Jaipur, so he wanted to see

Swamiji again.

After visiting Abu, Ahmedabad, Baroda,

Narmada, Junagad, Prabhas, Dwaraka,

and Kachchha-Mandavi, Akhandananda

started on another journey. He

walked eighty miles to see Narayan

Sarovar, a holy lake in Gujerat. He

was cautioned by the local people

that the path was dangerous and

haunted by robbers, but Akhandananda

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 12 January 2012

searched his clothing and bundle but

found no money. They then realised

that the swami was a genuine, penniless

monk. In the meantime, the pilgrim

arrived. Upon seeing the robbers, he

fell to the ground saying, “I am

gone.” Akhandananda asked the robbers

not to hurt the old pilgrim. Knowing

that the robbers were poor, the swami

offered his warm clothing to the robbers.

The ringleader was very touched. He

took the dust of the swami’s feet and

begged for his blessings. He then

asked Akhandananda not to tell anyone

about this episode, and then all of

them disappeared swiftly.

That evening Akhandananda reached

Narayan Sarovar and became the

guest at the local monastery. The

swami had a high temperature, and

his body ached terribly. As a result,

he could not bathe in the sacred lake.

The abbot gave Akhandananda a

horse and a guide to accompany him

on his journey, and at last he met

Swamiji at Mandavi. Although Swamiji

wanted to travel alone, they travelled

together for a while in Bhuj and

Porbandar. Then Swamiji left for

Junagad, and Akhandananda moved

towards Jamnagar via Kathiawar,

Jitpur, Gondal, and Rajkot.

The service of God in man

In June 1892 Akhandananda reached

Jamnagar, where he lived for a year.

There he started his mission - the

service of God in man. He lived with

a doctor, Kaviraj Manishankar, for

four months and studied ayurvedic

medical science. He also went to a

Vedic school and learned to chant the

four Vedas. He became acquainted

with an old abbot of an affluent temple,

who offered the swami his position as

well as all of his wealth. Akhandananda

declined, quoting a Hindi couplet,

“The water is pure that flows, and the

monk is pure who goes.”

Akhandananda then moved to the

house of a banker by the name of

Shankar Seth; he lived with him for

four months. Shankar Seth was a devout

and wealthy man, and had no children.

Every day he performed worship,

prepared himself to face them. He

took a young boy as his guide and

learned from him the words in Kutch

dialect: “Take everything I have, but

don’t kill me.” He had covered fifty

miles when he met a pilgrim on the

way, and then let the boy continue on

his own journey.

That part of the country was severely

afflicted by famine and sparsely populated.

In the afternoon Akhandananda

noticed that four men wearing red

turbans were following them diagonally.

As the pilgrim was an elderly man,

he remained behind the swami. When

the men who had been following

them approached Akhandananda, he

asked, “How far is it to Narayan Sarovar?”

“Six miles,” one of them answered.

Then all of a sudden, one of them

grabbed his shoulder and thrust him

onto the ground. Immediately, the

swami said in their language, “Take

everything I have, but don’t kill me.”

Another robber then struck his back

twice with a bamboo staff; luckily,

his cotton shirt and backpack

cushioned the blows. Two robbers

with daggers in their hands ordered

Akhandananda to remove his clothes.

He kept on his loin cloth and handed

everything else over to them. They

Divine Light Personified: Swami Akhandananda, one of the monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna

According to the Vishuddha Siddhanta Almanac Swami Akhandananda’s birthday celebration wias observed on

Tuesday, the 27th of September, 2011.

Swami Akhandananda

(One who enjoys the bliss of the

Undivided Existence)

(1864 -1937)

practised japam and meditation, and

distributed food to the poor and

mendicants. He became very fond of

the swami and would give to charities

according to his advice. When

Akhandananda wanted to leave,

Shankar asked him to stay and even

offered to build a Ramakrishna temple

on his land. This was unbearable for

Shankar’s nephews, who were supposed

to inherit their uncle’s property.

Akhandananda then went to Khetri in

Rajasthan – via Baroda, Bhavnagar

(where he learned of Swamiji’s success

in America), Bombay, and Abu,

where he became the guest of Raja

Ajit Singh, Vivekananda’s disciple.

Akhandananda lived in Rajasthan for

nearly eight months. He observed the

pitiful condition of the masses. He

wrote a letter to Swamiji in America,

asking him for assistance.

Swamiji replied in early 1894, “Go

from door to door amongst the poor

and lower classes of the town of

Khetri and teach them religion. Also,

let them have oral lessons on geography

and such other subjects. No good will

come of sitting idle and having

princely dishes, and saying

‘Ramakrishna, O Lord’ unless you

can do some good to the poor...It is

preferable to live on grass for the

sake of doing good to others. The

ochre robe is not for enjoyment. It is

the banner of heroic work...The poor,

the illiterate, the ignorant, the afflicted

– let these be your God. Know that

service to these alone is the highest

religion.”

Campaign against Poverty

Swamiji’s encouragement pushed him

further, and in 1894 Akhandananda

began his campaign against poverty.

He found that the root of all suffering

was the appalling ignorance of the

masses; hence, education became his

prime objective. He moved from

door to door impressing upon the

residents of Khetri the need to educate

their children. By his strenuous efforts

he succeeded in raising the enrolment

of the local high school from 80 to

257, as well as improving the teaching

staff. He next visited the villagers

around Khetri and started five primary

schools for the village boys. The

Maharaja of Khetri afterwards made

an annual grant available for the

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 13 January 2012

love for the Master that he travelled

for nearly three weeks in remote

villages to collect ‘nageswar champa’,

a favourite flower of Sri Ramakrishna.

During this trip he taught the villagers

about matters such as health-care and

sanitation. Akhandananda’s gigantic

heart cried for the poor, the destitute

and the sick.

Akhandananda was a great organiser.

While in Bengal, he met many pandits,

educators and political leaders and

consulted them about starting a Vedic

school. In 1897, when Swami Vivekananda

returned from the West, Swami

Akhandananda worked hard to

arrange a reception for him. In March

1897 Swami Vivekananda went to

Darjeeling for a period of rest and

Akhandananda left for Navadwip –

the birthplace of Chaitanya - and

Murshidabad, an important historical

site. He was thinking of returning to

the Himalayas for the remainder of

his days after seeing some of the

notable places in Bengal, however, in

Murshidabad district, the Swami

encountered a terrible famine. A

teacher of the Bhabta school invited

the swami to attend the Annapurna

(goddess of food) worship in Mahula,

an adjacent village. While there, he

fervently prayed to the Mother to

save the lives of the poor people.

Akhandananda was then offered a

room in the temple complex, and

thought deeply about his future plans.

He began giving classes on the Gita

to the villagers, and they fed him.

Akhandananda later wrote, “I carried

a picture of Sri Ramakrishna with

me. Every day after my bath in the

Ganges, I would offer some flowers

before it and pray to the Master with

tears for the famine-stricken people.

Thus I prayed every morning and

evening. One day there was a response.

I heard the Master’s voice say: ‘Wait

and see what happens.’”

On the 15th of May 1897 Swami

Akhandananda started famine relief

work in Mahula and several other

villages in the Murshidabad district.

It was the first organised relief work

of the Ramakrishna Mission which had

been started by Swami Vivekananda

on the 1st of May 1897 in Calcutta.

Akhandananda wrote letters to his

brother disciples in Calcutta and

Madras requesting financial help.

promotion of education in his territory.

At Akhanananda’s request, the Sanskrit

school at Khetri was converted into a

Vedic School; he also raised money to

buy books for the poor students. In

addition he induced Maharaja Ajit

Singh to allow his poorer subjects to

see him on official reception days,

so that they could have direct access

to their king.

After his stay in Khetri, Swami

Akhandananda visited Jaipur, Chittor,

Udaipur and many other villages of

Rajasthan. He asked the local leaders

to start schools, distribute food

among the poor, and support cottage

industries. Some rich landlords

would lend money to the farmers

and then demand high interest. They

did not like the swami’s revolutionary

ideas. Even the king of Udaipur became

upset when Akhandananda refused

to take food from the royal priest

unless the poor people were fed first.

Akhandananda was undaunted, however,

and continued his mission. He succeeded

in starting several schools and

performing other philanthropic

activities in Rajasthan. Akhandananda

wanted to lead an austere and

contemplative life, but divine providence

ordained that under his monastic

garb, he would instead become a

patriot, statesman, and philanthropist.

In September 1894 Swamiji wrote to

his Madras disciples from America

regarding the pioneering spirit of Sri

Ramakrishna’s disciples.

Back to Alambazar Monastery

Towards the end of 1895 swami

Akhandananda returned to the

Alambazar Monastery via Delhi,

Etawah, Allahabad, and Varanasi. In

1892, the Ramakrishna Math had

been moved from Baranagore to

Alambazar, which is very close to

Dakshineswar. The brother disciples

were happy to have Akhandananda

with them again after five years. The

monastery was in poor financial

condition. Akhandananda later recalled,

“In the monastery we ate rice, lentils,

and a hotchpotch vegetable curry. At

night we ate chapattis [flattened

bread] without butter.” But because

their minds were filled with divine bliss,

the hardships did not disturb them.

Akhandananda was a man of action.

He had so much energy and so much

The response was immediate: Swamiji

sent two monks to help him. Seeing the

appeal for relief in the newspapers,

The Mahabodhi Society and some

generous people of Madras and Calcutta

sent money to him.

On the 15th of June 1897 Vivekananda

wrote to him from Almora: “I am

getting detailed reports of you and

getting more and more delighted. It is

that sort of work which can conquer

the world...work, work, work, even

unto death! Those that are weak must

make themselves great workers, great

heroes – never mind money, it will

drop from the heavens...it is the

heart, the heart that conquers, not the

brain. Books and learning, yoga and

meditation and illumination – all are

but dust compared with love. It is love

that gives you the supernatural powers,

love that gives you bhakti [devotion],

love that gives illumination, and love

again, that leads to emancipation.

This indeed is worship, worship of

the Lord in the human tabernacle.”

Swami Vivekananda’s letter increased

Akhandananda’s spirit of service a

thousandfold. He later reminisced, “I

read his letters over and over again

and gained fresh strength within me.

– I shall either carry out my purpose

or lay down my body – this mantram

filled my heart. Oh, into what a current of

activity did I then submerge myself.”

At Shivnagar and Sargachi

When the relief operation in Mahula

was over, Akhandananda decided to

open a permanent orphanage. The

Murshidabad district magistrate

promised to give him financial help

for this project. Madhusundari Barman, a

rich landowner, was impressed with

Akhandananda’s work, so she donated

one and a half acres of land to him

for the ashrama, and offered him her

office building in Shivnagar, near

Sargachi, to use temporarily.

In 1898 the Ramakrishna Monastery

had been moved from Alambazar to

Nilambar Babu’s garden house at

Belur. On Tuesday, 22nd of February

1898, Akhandananda arrived at the

monastery to attend the festival of Sri

Ramakrishna’s birth anniversary. He

carried form Behrampur two

‘pantuas’ [a sweet made of cheese

fried with butter and soaked in syrup]

which weighed sixty pounds and had

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 14 January 2012

Nivedita, Swamiji’s Irish disciple,

and Swami Sadananda also did

extensive relief work in Calcutta.

When the epidemic subsided, Swamiji

left for Almora and Akhandananda

returned to Sargachi. Akhandananda

faced terrible poverty in Sargachi. He

wrote letters to some of his old

acquaintances asking for financial

help. Pramadadas Mittra of Varanasi

wrote back to him mentioning that it

is better for a monk to travel, study

and practise meditation and japam

than to get involved in social service.

A few large-hearted local people

came forward to help Akhandananda

build a permanent ashrama and

orphanage. Akhandananda was a

silent and unpretentious worker, so

without caring for the city’s fanfare,

he continued to worship his living

gods in the remote village. Putting

aside the monastic ochre cloth, he put

on knee-length pants and tied his

head with a handkerchief, and tilled

the ground like other farmers. He

lived on a farmer’s diet - mixing lime

and salt with rice soaked in water. He

grew fruits, flowers, vegetables and

even cotton. Like Gandhi, he started

to weave cloth on a spinning wheel.

He arranged regular, practical schooling

for his orphan boys, and at night he

taught the illiterate adult villagers and

he gave medicine to the sick people.

When one of his orphans died, he

cried like a loving mother who had

lost her son.

The Passing Events

In October 1899 Akhandananda was

invited by Raja Yogendranarayan,

the ruler of Lalgola, to attend Durga

Puja in his palace and also to distribute

pieces of cloth among the poor. On

the second day of Mother’s worship,

Akhandananda learnt of a devastating

flood in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar.

He immediately left for Bhagalpur,

reaching it the next day. He was

impressed by the relief work of Mr

Caming, the district magistrate of

Bhagalpur. Mr Caming asked

Akhandananda to conduct relief work

in the Ghogha area. The swami

organised the local landlords, lawyers,

teachers and students to face the

catastrophe. Swami Sadananda was

sent from Belur Math, and the public

generously helped the effort with money,

food and clothing. Akhandananda

been presented by a rich devotee.

Swamiji saw those large sweets and

asked him to offer them to the Master

in the shrine.

The disciples of the Master lived

together in the monastery with much

joy and amusement. Akhandananda

later narrated this one incident: “One

day in Belur, Swamiji was telling the

stories of his itinerant days and I was

supplying the forgotten events to

him. He scolded me, ‘Don’t talk too

much. Keep quiet and meditate. ‘So

I obeyed him. In the meantime, he

talked about a fish in the Himalayas,

and asked me, ‘Hello, how big was

the fish?’ With my eyes closed, I

raised my two hands and showed the

size of that fish. All burst out laughing.”

Akhandananda also recounted

another incident that illustrates how

strict Swamiji was about the monastery

routine: “One night there was a

discussion on various topics of

Vedanta, such as reincarnation and

whether a human soul is born in the

subhuman plane or not. The brothers

took sides in the debate and Swamiji

became the umpire. He was smiling

and listening, and sometime he supplied

points to the losing side. It continued

til 2 a.m. Everybody went to sleep.

Then at 4 a.m. Swamiji asked me to

ring the bell so that the monks could

go to the shrine for meditation. I said

that they had gone to sleep only a

couple of hours earlier, and that he

should let them sleep. Swamiji then

firmly said, ‘What! Because they

have gone to sleep at 2 o’ clock

should they get up at 6 o’ clock?

Give me the bell. I will ring it. Did

we start this monastery for sleeping?’

When I rang the bell loudly, all got

up yelling at me. But when they saw

Swamiji smiling behind me, they

silently followed the routine.”

After working hard for a year,

Akhandananda fell sick at Belur

Monastery. On the 30th of March

1898, after he had recovered, he

went with Swamiji to Darjeeling for

a change. While they were gone a

plague broke out in Calcutta. In the

first week of May, Swamiji and

Akhandananda returned to Calcutta.

In an attempt to comfort the people

and plague victims, Swamiji wrote a

pamphlet; Akhandananda distributed

copies at the risk of his life. Sister

Swami Akhandananda

operated the relief work for two and

a half months, serving fifty villages.

Akhandananda wrote to Swamiji,

who was in America, mentioning the

relief work. On the 21st of February

1990 Swamiji replied from California:

“... Learning and wisdom are superfluities,

the surface glitter merely, but it is the

heart that is the seat of power. It is

not in the brain but in the heart that

the Atman, possessed of knowledge,

power and activity, has Its seat. The

nerves of the heart are a hundred and

one. The chief nerve centre near the

heart, called the sympathetic ganglia,

is where the Atman has Its citadel.

The more heart you will be able to

manifest, the greater will be the victory

you achieve.”

Vivekananda returned to India in

December 1900. He passed away a

year and a half later, on the 4th of

July 1902. When Akhandananda

heard the news, he rushed to Belur

Math. He cried for Swamiji and lived

in the Monastery with his brother

disciples for a few days. He was

depressed and felt emptiness all

around. On the seventh day after

Swamiji’s passing away, he went to

Calcutta to meet Sharat Chandra

Chakrabarty, a disciple of Swamiji.

Later Akhandananda told Miss Josephine

MacLeod, an American devotee: “I

have seen Swamiji after his passing

away as clearly as I see you now,

otherwise I could not live.” This vision

filled his heart with joy and inspiration.

Akhandananda returned to his ashrama.

He managed the orphanage and the

ashrama activities from the Shivnagara

office building for over twelve years.

The land that was donated was not

sufficient for the ashrama, so in August

1912 he bought about thirteen acres

of land in Sargachi village. According

to the swami’s plans, some rooms

were constructed with thatched roofs

in order to save money, and then in

March 1913 the ashrama was permanently

moved to the new location. Swami

Akhandananda planted flowering

plants and fruit trees all around and

made the ashrama like an ancient

hermitage. Along with education, the

swami concentrated on improving the

agricultural and industrial activities

amongst the villagers. The ashrama

ran a fully fledged industrial school,

teaching weaving, sewing, carpentry

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 15 January 2012

Balgangadhar Tilak and Chittaranjan

Das; he admired their self-sacrifice

and service to the motherland.

Akhandananda also learned continually

and as a result he had encyclopaedic

knowledge. He encouraged the

monks to keep diaries.

Swami Brahmananda passed away on

the 10th of April 1922. On the 2nd of

May 1922 Swami Shivananda became

the president, and Swami Akhandananda

the vice-president of the Ramakrishna

Order. In April 1926 the first convention

of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission

was held in Belur Math. Some direct

disciples of the Master along with

other monks and devotees discussed

the past, present and future of the

Order. Akhandananda gave a talk on

the 7th of April during the final session

of the convention. His concluding

words were: “Sri Ramakrishna one

day cried aloud from the rooftop for

those young spiritual seekers who

were to come to him and pour forth

their lives’ offerings on the altar of

his service, and they came. But that cry

has not ended there; it is still ringing

through the air and shall continue for

aeons. Many have come after that,

many are still coming and many

more will come in the future.”

Towards the end

In 1934, after the passing away of

Shivananda, Akhandananda became

the president of the Ramakrishna

Order. From then on he lived in both

Belur Math and Sargachi, but he

spent most of his time in Sargachi. In

January 1934 there was a devastating

earthquake in Bihar and many people

were killed. In April Akhandananda

went to inspect the Ramakrishna

Mission’s relief work there. His presence

raised the morale of the people and

he also inspired the monks to serve

the afflicted as God. He returned to

Belur Math on the 10th of May, and

then went to Sargachi in the last

week of May.

As president of the Ramakrishna Order,

Akhandananda initiated a large number

of people. On the 4th of November

1934 he went to Bombay and then

Nagpur, where he inspired many

seekers of God. At the end of November

Akhandananda returned to Calcutta

and then on the 3rd of December 1934

he went to Sargachi. Sri Ramakrishna’s

and sericulture, which was the pride of

the locality. One room of the ashrama

was allotted for a library and charitable

dispensary, and another room for the

shrine. In the beginning he was not

in favour of building a temple, as he

was convinced that he was worshipping

the living gods. Later, however, at

his devotees’ request he gave consent

to build a temple for Sri Ramakrishna.

Akhandananda was a self-made

man. He was a voracious reader, a

linguist, a powerful speaker, a

humorous conversationalist and a

good writer. His memoirs (‘Smriti

Katha’) and travel accounts were

published serially in ‘Udbodhan’

and ‘Basumati’, and later in book

form. In 1906 when Abhedananda

returned from America, he wanted

Akhandananda to go with him to the

west, but the latter declined. He

preferred worshipping the poor living

gods in the village rather than

preaching Vedanta. He was respectful

of the patriotism of Matsini and

Garibaldi of Italy, and he was

inspired by Florence Nightingale’s

and Booker T. Washington’s spirit

of service. He also had tremendous

appreciation for the India national

leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi,

I n the world take always the

position of the giver. Give

everything and look for no

return. Give love, give help,

give service, give any little thing you

can, but keep out barter. Make no

conditions, and none will be imposed.

Let us give out of our own bounty,

just as God gives to us.

- - - Swami Vivekananda

centenary celebration was scheduled

for February 1936. On the 19th of

January 1936 Miss Josephine MacLeod

went to the Sargachi Ashrama and

said to swami, “Give me your message

for the coming centenary.” Swami

Akhandananda replied, “I have no

message of my own. But I have received

this message from the Lord: ‘I am

Infinite and Eternal. What is my

centenary?’” Miss MacLeod said,

“All right, I shall take this message

with me.”

However, the Belur Math authorities

repeatedly wrote to Akhandananda to

send a message, as the celebration was

only a few days off. Akhandananda

later described how he wrote the

centenary message: “That message

was dictated by the Master...I picked

up a pen and pad and wrote down the

message.”

On the 23rd of February 1936

Akhandananda arrived at Belur

Math, and on the 24th of February he

gave the inaugural message of the

centenary. The following is the

conclusion of the message, translated

from Bengali:

The dawn of the new Age is breaking

over the world – the blessed day that

will illumine our hearts with the glory

of its effulgence is at hand.

Knowingly or unknowingly the human

race is moving forward along the

path of liberation inspired by Sri

Ramakrishna’s message of the harmony

of all religions and by his unique

realisation of the essential oneness of

karma [action], jnana [knowledge],

bhakti [devotion], and yoga [psychic

control]. The day is not far off when

the whole world will witness the

establishment of a universal kingdom

of peace, and when in loving response

to the call of the Master, all people,

forgetting their religious differences,

will unite together and glorify the

Master’s message, “As many faiths,

so many paths.” Then only will the

meridian light of the Master’s advent

illumine the hearts of humanity.

May the citizens of the world, on this

blessed day, understand the meaning of

the Master’s coming and be hallowed.

This and this alone is my fervent

prayer. Peace, peace and peace be

unto all.

Reach Issue No. 21 Page 16 January 2012

Conclusion

Akhandananda stayed in Belur Math

for a month. His body was feeble

and it was difficult for him to even

walk. A doctor examined him and

found that he had diabetes. Never-

theless, he returned to Sargachhi and

continued his spiritual ministry.

Akhandananda loved his village

ashrama dearly and never liked to be

away from it for long. However, he

cherished a desire to give up his body

in Belur Math, where Vivekananda

had installed the relics of the Master. The

swami’s wish was providentially fulfilled.

On the 5th of February 1937, a cable

was sent to Belur Math to inform the

monks of Akhandananda’s serious

condition. Two monks arrived from

Belur Math the next day and, with

the local doctor’s approval, decided

to take the swami to Calcutta for

treatment. The train left at 5.00 p.m.;

he fell unconscious on the way. The

train arrived at Calcutta at 11.00

p.m. He was first taken to Udbodhan

by ambulance and then to Belur

Math at midnight via Dakshineswar.

His bed was made ready next to

Vivekananda’s room. Several doctors

tried their utmost to save this great

soul. At last, at 3.07 p.m. on the 7th

of February, Swami Akhandananda

passed away at the age of 72. His

body was cremated on the banks of

the Ganges, close to Swamiji’s temple

in Belur Math.

To see God in all beings is the

culmination of the Vedantic experience.

Swami Akhandananda had that

experience, so he served all as God.

Sources:

God Lived With Them: Life Stories of

sixteen monastic disciples by Swami

Chetanananda; Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta;

pages 557-588.

Ramakrishna and his Disciples by Christopher

Isherwood; Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta;

pages 235-6.

When I told him that I had lost my

job. Swamiji immediately remarked:

“Keep holding tightly the holy feet of

Thakurji Maharaj (Sri Ramakrishna).

When He is there, where is the need

to worry? Give all your burden to

him.” These wise words of Swami

Damodarananda stayed with me all

day and night and I was moved to

tears during my evening prayers. To

this day, I have never forgotten the

effect those words had on me. Swami

Damodarananda’s words inspired me

and helped me in bringing about a

deep sense of peace, dedication, devotion

and a positive attitude towards life,

dispelling all my anxieties. He did

not give me a job, but his words of

wisdom enabled me overcome my

own mental barriers and helped me

realise my potential.

This has happened time and again

throughout my association with Swami

Damodarananda. There was a time

when I was working in Malaysia, and

I had a dream directing me to go to

Perth to welcome a saint. And true

enough, when I reached Perth, Swami

Damodarananda was there! Somehow

he has been there for me to help me

overcome each anxious moment of

life with his presence and gentle words.

Swamiji also introduced me to other

saints. I feel blessed that Swamiji was

not just there to give me advice and

left me on my own to follow his

teachings. Through his physical and

divine presence he saw to it that we

continued to follow his teachings,

reminding us that we are all here to

respect and love each other and play out

our part in this great cosmic universe.

Continued from page 8

T his life is short, the vanities of

the world are transient, but

they alone live who live for

others, the rest are more dead

than alive.

My children, the secret of religion is not

in theories but in practice. To be good

and to do good---that is the whole of

religion.

Always remember that we are but puppets

in the Lord's hands. Remain pure always.

Please take care not to become impure

even in thought, as in speech and action;

always try to do good to others as far as

in you lies.

- - - Swami Vivekananda